Chennai: Over 6,000 families in Tambaram municipality had a sleepless Monday night after the dumpyard at Kannadapalayam caught fire resulting in smoke engulfing the whole area. The fire that broke out in the dumping ground was caused by left-over crackers burst earlier in the day. The stench and the smoke caused by the fire affected about 30,000 people at Kannadapalayam and the nearby areas of Gandhi Nagar, Housing Board, Mullai Nagar and Amal Nagar.
Many families moved out of the vicinity. Travel on Tambaram–Maduravoyal bypass road was also affected due to poor vision. Fire and rescue services personnel arrived at around 11 pm and began extinguishing the fire. People also held a protest at the municipality office demanding action. They were led by the former chairman of Tambaram municipality S. R. Raja. The new dumpyard project at Vengadamangalam is progressing at a snail’s pace, Raja said.
“Fire engines were brought from three areas and water was provided from the municipality to douse the flames,” said M Karikaalan, current chairman. Although flames were doused in the morning, thick smoke continued to billow from the dumpyard until evening. He said the Vengadamangalam project is being implemented in 50 acre space at a cost of Rs 99 crore. This facility can hold 500 tonnes of garbage every day compared with 110 tonne capacity of the dumpyard at Kannadapalayam.The current dumping yard has been in use for the past three decades. The existing wastes will be closed with concrete, the chairman said.
